Hartford Business Journal

HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | APRIL 15, 2024 11 home in a development known as Pine Orchard Branford in 2005. He listed the property as a vacation rental through Vrbo. Pine Orchard Association governs the development and issued a cease- and-desist order in 2019, stating the rental violated zoning regulations updated a year earlier. Wihbey appealed, first to the local appeals board and then to Superior Court, arguing regulations approved in 1994 allowed the rentals. Pine Orchard Association and two neighboring homeowners who inter- vened in the case, however, argued that short-term rentals were never permitted, and that such use was not consistent with the property being a home or a residence. The appellate court, however, ruled that "home" and "residence" mean different things, stating that a residence can be a place where someone resides temporarily, while home suggests something more permanent. The court also ruled that the 1994 regulations allowed short-term rentals. The case was appealed to the state Supreme Court, which heard argu- ments from all sides on March 27. A decision is not expected for months. Markowitz, though, said the court's decision likely will set a precedent. Until then, Chu's appeal will be heard by the West Hartford Zoning Board of Appeals, and if it is rejected, the plan is to take the case to court. Chu said he believes the enforce- ment seems arbitrary, because he is aware of others who list West Hart- ford homes on Airbnb who have not received letters from the town. A check of zoning agendas for the past three years on the town's website found no other appeals of cease-and- desist orders for short-term rentals. Pending legislation Meantime, state lawmakers are also weighing in on the issue. A bill in the legislature would allow municipalities to create ordinances to license and regulate short-term rental properties, as well as to hire experts to help develop regulations to "prop- erly manage these uses." A report prepared for legislators about the bill states that "increased traffic, noise, parking issues and other concerns" have prompted many municipalities "to consider efforts to regulate such rentals." It also cites safety concerns, as well as reduced affordable housing inventory and that rentals "drive up rent prices and displace long-term residents." Samuel Gold, executive director of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments, raised concerns about the bill, stating in testimony that it's not clear what purpose licensure would serve, and that municipalities don't have the staff to process or enforce licensing. He added that municipalities already have the ability to prohibit short-term rentals in zoning regulations. An example of that is Middlebury, which became one of the first towns in the state to ban short-term rentals when it approved an ordinance in November. 'Property-owner rights' For his part, Chu says the town of West Hartford is picking on the wrong landlord. His houses are situ- ated less than the length of a football field from the town police depart- ment, and he doesn't rent to college kids who might throw wild parties. He said he primarily rents to corporate executives and families, often to those with children who attend Kingswood Oxford School, a private school on Trout Brook Drive that is also within walking distance of Raymond Road. One of his properties is rented to a local family that was recently displaced by a fire. "Part of my property-owner rights is to be able to rent my property out," he said. Mark Chu says his short-term rental customers like being just a quick walk from Blue Back Square. PHOTO | COSTAR Project Spotlight: Mizu 21 Building Ideas That Work... We're Connecticut's industry leader in the Design/Build delivery of projects providing full service in-house engineering and general contracting. 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